Tad Carpenter: Working on Sad Santa was a dream come true. It was 100% a project built on passion. It was an idea I was kicking around in my head for sometime and decided to take the time to make it a reality. I wrote the manuscript and created several examples of how I envisioned the artwork looking and the book being designed to start. I was lucky enough to have contacts with various publishers I had done work with prior and then started to shop the concept around. I was thrilled with the feedback I got from publishers, and Sterling Books quickly acquired it.

What inspired you to create this book?

This book was written and illustrated shortly after getting married to my best friend and now wife, Jessica. After planning a wedding for over a year, it came and went so quickly. We planned a huge party for all our friends and family for an entire year and then it was over. I thought, “I bet this is how Santa feels each year.” He works all year for one day and just like that, it is over. No doubt December 26th has to be an awful and horrible day for Santa. So, after many conversations with Santa himself, I was right! Santa does get the post-holiday blues. When the toys are all made, the presents handed out, and the Christmas cookies eaten, Santa is miserable. Will Santa ever feel like his old holly-jolly self again? What will cheer him up? And with that, the idea for the book was born.

Do you have any useful tips to share with our community?

Passion projects are good. Sad Santa started as a little sketch and a few lines of copy in my sketchbook. I was passionate about the idea and the project. No one was initially paying me to work on this project but I knew something was there. Always trust your gut and make your vision happen.

Any other details you’d like to share with the community about the project?

One thing I want all the kids and parents to do this year and make a tradition moving forward is this: Since Santa’s most difficult day of the year is December 26th after all the presents have been delivered, make sure you drop a little thank you note to Santa in the mail on that day so he knows how much you care. That will surely give the big guy a smile.

Mar272012

2012 is an important year for Adobe Illustrator, marking 25 years since the software first shipped as version 1.1, March 19, 1987.

It’s hard to even remember the world of professional graphic design in 1987, where technical drawing pens, French curves, X-acto knives, and rubylith masking film were the tools of choice. It was a world where just printing a beautiful, smooth curve from a computer to a black-and-white printer was magic, and being able to use a desktop computer program, Adobe Illustrator 1.1, to actually create those shapes in a fully controlled way was pure freedom. (more…)

Jan302012

We’re excited to announce the launch of the renovated Adobe Design Center – your hub for all things design. Adobe Design Center curates the freshest content to help inspire and educate designers creating for all types of media.

You can learn about industry leaders and get a behind-the-scenes look at some of the creative minds propelling the design industry forward. Adobe Design Center will also provide techniques and tips for your favorite Adobe products such as Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign, as well as new tools like Muse (code name) and Digital Publishing Suite.

To grab a preview, check out some of the stories that will be popping up on Adobe Design Center soon: (more…)